PRR 4876

Coordinates: 39°16′50.3″N 76°38′34.5″W / 39.280639°N 76.642917°W / 39.280639; -76.642917

PRR 4876 is a GG1-class electric locomotive located at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It was built in 1939 and was involved in the only accident to befall a GG1. In 1953, the locomotive overran the buffer stop and crashed into Union Station in Washington, D.C. after its brakes failed. A temporary concourse floor was erected over 4876 (which had broken through the original) for the upcoming inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower. After the inauguration it was shipped back to Altoona, Pennsylvania, for repairs and placed back into service.

Background

The GG1 was developed in the 1930s by General Electric as the replacement for the Pennsylvania Railroad's then standard electric locomotive, the P5a, and was based largely on the New Haven EP3.^[1] The GG1 was capable of a top speed of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), powered by its twelve 385 horsepower (287 kW) traction motors. The prototype GG1, PRR 4800, was tested against Westinghouse's submission, the R1. The Pennsylvania selected the GG1 over the R1, as the R1 was not articulated and the GG1's traction motors were similar to ones already in use.^[2] An order for the first 57 of a total 139 GG1s was placed in November 1934, with delivery starting in April 1935.^[2][3]

History

4876 was built in 1939 at the Pennsylvania Railroad's Altoona Works in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and was the 77th locomotive in its class.^[4] It operated between New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. on the electrified Northeast Corridor.

At 8:38 AM on the morning of January 15, 1953, 4876 was the subject of a wreck, the only one to involve a GG1, while pulling southbound Federal Express #173 from Boston, Massachusetts, to Washington, D.C. Upon nearing an "Approach" signal about 1 mile (1.6 km) outside of Washington, the engineer applied the brakes to slow the train down from 70 to 60 miles per hour (113 to 97 km/h).^[5] Noting that the train still was not slowing after passing the signal, the engineer engaged the emergency brake and sounded the locomotive's horn. Also observing the excessive speed of 4876 was an assistant train director in Interlocking Tower 'C', who radioed ahead to Tower 'K'. The train director in Tower 'K' had the switches changed to allow 4876 to enter Union Station on Track 16, its regularly assigned track.^[6] Having insufficient time to switch the runaway on to another track, the director alerted the station master's office which was situated at the end of Track 16. Still traveling at around 35 to 40 miles per hour (56 to 64 km/h), 4876 rammed the buffer stop and continued into the concourse of Union Station, before partially falling through the floor into the baggage room below.^[7]

An investigation by the Interstate Commerce Commission discovered a design flaw on a style of passenger car used by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in which the handle of an angle cock, a valve used to close the brake pipe when the car is the last one in the train, came into contact with a bottom crossmember of the coupler pocket. The angle cock would become closed, rendering the brakes on all the trailing cars inoperable.^[8] The third car behind 4876, New Haven 8665, was of this design, but the fourth car had a slightly different style of coupler. The difference between the two cars increased the frequency and the intensity of which the angle cock at the rear of 8655 would hit the crossmember.^[9] Earlier in the morning, the train was stopped outside of Kingston, Rhode Island, because the brakes on the final two cars were "sticking" and could not be released from the locomotive.^[10] Upon inspection, the angle cock on 8655 was found to be closed and was reopened by the engineer, but, after a locomotive and shift change, the matter was forgotten.

With the inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower set to occur on January 20, the passenger cars were re-railed and 4876 was lowered the rest of the way into the baggage room. A temporary floor was erected over the locomotive so as to not impede the crowds traveling to Washington, D.C. for the inauguration. After the inauguration, 4876 was cut into 6-foot (1.8 m) sections, hoisted from the baggage room, and reassembled in the Altoona shops.^[4] The insurance company deemed it less expensive to reassemble 4876 than to replace it with a new locomotive.^[4]

Ten months later, 4876 was returned to service, repainted in Tuscan red. It stayed in service until 1983 when she was retired and donated for preservation. Originally planned for donation to the Smithsonian Institution, it was ultimately donated to the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.^[11][12] Initially, the museum planned on restoring 4876 and putting it on display, however, these plans were placed on hold indefinitely when the museum's roundhouse roof collapsed in 2003, and the museum is currently focusing its efforts on restoring the equipment damaged by the collapse.^[13][14] The locomotive has been stored outside since it was acquired by the museum, has become defaced with graffiti and parts of its steel body are corroded.^[14]

See also

• List of rail accidents (1950–1999)

References

Sources

• "Ex Parte No. 184, Accident at Union Station, Washington D.C." (PDF). Interstate Commerce Commission. February 17, 1953. Retrieved February 11, 2011. 
• Bezilla, Michael (1980). Electric Traction on the Pennsylvania Railroad, 1895–1968. University Park: Penn State University Press. ISBN 978-0271002415. OCLC 5336721. 
• Loftus, Joseph A (January 16, 1953). "Runaway Train Rams Station In Washington, Injuring 41". The New York Times. pp. 1, 16. 
• Stauffer, Alvin W (1962). Pennsy Power. Carrollton, Ohio: Standard Print & Publishing. LCCN 62020878.